How can I make travel cheaper.

[Youagain2025]

So between 1st of may to the 21st of may I have spent 77.65 on travel. This is a mix of train and bus.

My routine is on the way to school is 2 buses . Kids travel free. I drop kids then 2 buses home.

Afternoon pick up . I take the train one stop. I then take a bus.

Once I have the kids we walk to the train station . And get the train home . This is 4 stops.

The reason I get the train is it's 2 mins vs 20 mins on the bus. When i have the kids it's because its much less busy than the buses less stressful the mornings on the buses are not so bad as they are less busy compared to after school.

I used my family rail card in the afternoon and it cost 4.75 for myself and 2 children.

How long is it to walk?

Walk or bike??

Any sort of monthly pass or season ticket available? £25(ish) a week for the amount of travel you’re doing doesn’t sound unreasonable, our local buses cap at £5 a day for 3 or more journeys but a 4 week pre paid pass is £73.

How far would cycling be, either all or part of the way?

It's to far. I have 2 kids as well. Plus I have no road sense on a bike.

I think so . But im confusing myself because I'm travelling partly with the kids then partly alone.

I thought this was going to be a thread about saving on overseas holidays.

-Bike/trike with a child trolley
-Scooters
-Any discount for booking the trains in advance?
-Paying another parent to drop your kids off, even if only once a week?

Are there no schools within walking distance they could go to?

You are doing 2 return trips a day? Your kids are doing 1 return journey a day. What is the cost for each leg of the journey and can you give us a generic area or a transport provider please.

I can't do the bike thing. I literly have no road sense apart from ad a pedestrian. The kids are 9 and 10 so would not be suitable for them.

I don't love near other parents.

I will double check about advance booking

I'm not willing to change their school they are in year 5&6 ds would not cope with the change. He had autism ehcp etc

I'm confusing myself I think . Train wise in the afternoon i go one stop. On my own. Then when I collect the kids I go to a different station and travel 4 stops with the kids.

Bus wise in the morning i get 2 buses with the kids drop them off get 2 buses on my own.

I'm in southeast London

I should have said year 4 & 5 was ti late to change it

The bus is cheaper than the train. If you’d gone by bus with the kids this afternoon it would have been £1.75 instead of £4.75. Ditto the one stop on the train by yourself and then a bus compared to just the bus would be whatever the train fare is because even if you get two buses you wouldn’t pay again.

so it’s a toss up between time/convenience and money I’m afraid

Do you have a network rail card? Might that make any difference at all? they cost £35 but then you get a third off all fares after 10am.

For travellers in the South-East of England
Get 1/3 off travel after 10:00 am (and any time on weekends and public holidays). Applies only to journeys starting and ending in the South-East Network Railcard area.

For up to four adults and four children aged 5-15
Children get 60% off

if the kids travel for free and you’re doing twice as many journeys then just look for an adult pass!!

If you don't have a reason to be back home, you could stay in the area near the school, and save yourself 2 journeys per day. You could sit in a library or park.

Assuming this is school run 5 days a week that's only about £2.50 for a return journey? That is very cheap for three of you on half the journeys. It'd probably be at least that each on average here. However, you can always do to save money so definitely look for passes or season tickets. When I lived in Manchester I used to buy a monthly bus pass as soon as I got paid so I knew my travel was sorted and it was much better value than paying each journey.

I'm going to have a look . I just discovered that the kids can travel free on the train with a zipp card. So I have just applied . Going to look for something for myself now. I think l it will likely be the one you have suggested 👍

What do you do in the hours between drop off and collecting from school?

I'm not sure why your asking that ?

I think i have sorted something. I have managed to sort the kids out for free travel.

I have found discount ones for myself. But will sort it properly tomorrow.

@Youagain2025 when my DS was that age I was working, so I wasn't returning home. The school run was just part of an onward commute. I just wondered if you were going home just to go out again..
I was driving through (job was in Central Bristol and we lived outside the city).

I had similar. I used to work in the area so I wasn’t going backwards and forwards.

Considering how many journeys you are making, you are getting an incredible deal.

You do realise the rest of the Country have to pay a lot more than that for the equivalent journeys? We don't get free travel for children either.

But, in most places, a monthly travel pass works out much cheaper than paying for individual journeys if you are traveling every day.